How many are thinking of jumping ship?
Jun 13, 2011, 12:41 am
#92
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: PHX and TUS
Programs: UA 1K SPG Plat HHonors Diamond
Posts: 253
Yep. The ones that are at 75% or higher are the Plats/1ks who fly on expensive/refundable fares. My upgrade percentage in the last half of 2010 was a measly 35%, and even on cheap fares that is ludicrously low.
I do have 8 segments coming up though, so I guess I might get a glimpse of whether things have changed in the last 6-12 months.
I do have 8 segments coming up though, so I guess I might get a glimpse of whether things have changed in the last 6-12 months.
Jun 13, 2011, 12:49 am
#93
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: SNA and BNA depending on work and time of year
Programs: UA Silver/ AA EXP/Hyatt Globalist/Marriott Lifetime Titanium/Hilton Diamond
Posts: 2,189
I wouldn’t get too excited about AA unless you’re in F a lot. DL had to move me to an AA flight EWR-DFW a few weeks ago. When I checked in at the ticket counter, I was assigned a middle seat as the agent said nothing else was left. At the gate, 10 minutes later, the agent said there were several aisle seats. Nice.
Once aboard, the FA's made exactly one pass through Y for drinks. One. On a three hour flight. And they couldn’t have looked more bored with their jobs if they tried.
Also, almost half of their mainline fleet are tired, worn out MD-80’s, with some of the worst onboard bin space in the industry.
Used to be an AA plat - don't really miss riding on them at all.
Once aboard, the FA's made exactly one pass through Y for drinks. One. On a three hour flight. And they couldn’t have looked more bored with their jobs if they tried.
Also, almost half of their mainline fleet are tired, worn out MD-80’s, with some of the worst onboard bin space in the industry.
Used to be an AA plat - don't really miss riding on them at all.
My experiences with AA domestic have been meh at best. The employees both at the airport and on board are surly or as you mentioned bored. I was on a flight from HNL-LAX and the flight attendants made 1 drink pass. And there was no way to get their attention to ask them anything. I was also abused by an AA FA because I was a late connect and bins were full. I had a very small laptop bag but the FA decided to use the last bin space to push a Kettle oversized roll aboard in. Then she proceeded to tell me I HAD to check my laptop bag. She was yelling "We can't inconvenience all of these other people for you." Well if that's how AA treats elites, I'm over that really quickly. FYI, my bag had more than just a laptop in it and it would have been impossible to unpack all electronics. Why not make the Kettle check the oversized roll aboard instead of yelling at one of your elites? That really made me ill.
So I came into this thread looking for answers. I don't like AA. In coach it's brutal unless you get an exit. The FA's are rude and annoying. And when anything goes wrong, I don't find them very willing to fix it they way the old UA would.
BUT will the new CO/UA with Smi/J at the helm mirror AA? If so, I don't want that either. I'm at a loss and wish I could figure out which way to go. All 4 legacies fit my flying patterns, but US and DL "pesos" turn me off them. I know each airline has the good and the bad, but if you hate stepping foot on a plane every time, the bad really stands out.
Any thoughts?
Jun 13, 2011, 4:49 am
#94
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Programs: UA-1k, 1mm, Marriott-LT Platinum, Hertz-Presidents Circle
Posts: 6,355
Presuming that you have the luxury of choosing a hub and therefore a primary carrier, I would advise waiting for at least 12 months. Clear that marketing efforts and cost structure will result in all legacy carriers vastly changing their frequent flyer program. Even if they don't change the rules, the practical impact of: 1) reduced capacity; 2) increased paid F travel inbound from overseas; paid F and Y/B travel by increased US domestic travel and an emphasis on large corporate account discounts mean: 1) fewer seats available for UG and therefore fewer UG, if any, below GS and even those largely at the gate; 2) a lot fewer award seats; and 3) lower availability of discounted fares (why would a carrier sell a coach seat at deep discount when someone willing to pay Y/B.
All in, the new business mode is that you will sit in the cabin in which you purchased a ticket. There will, of course, be occasional exceptions, but the days of folks spending less than $100K/year being UG are coming to a close. Whether that happens first on UA, DL, AA or US is anybody's guess.
All in, the new business mode is that you will sit in the cabin in which you purchased a ticket. There will, of course, be occasional exceptions, but the days of folks spending less than $100K/year being UG are coming to a close. Whether that happens first on UA, DL, AA or US is anybody's guess.
Please be sure to share your routes and dates with us please!
Majority opinion is that there are no cheap UACO fares to be found anywhere... (I don't completely agree with this, but I have noticed a tendency towards higher prices. And I have seen very few fares that justify a Mileage Run...)
Thanks for sharing your AA experiences... Many here are tempted; In my case so far SFO has been the deciding factor against AA. Even with the great new T2 at SFO, AA continues to reduce service... I guess that is what happens when you don't live in a cornerstone city.
Out of the blue, Alaska just gifted me MVP status... I am going to check the AS forum to see if this is really worth anything. If it is, maybe I'll direct some of my west coast (PDX, SEA) travel towards AS...
Majority opinion is that there are no cheap UACO fares to be found anywhere... (I don't completely agree with this, but I have noticed a tendency towards higher prices. And I have seen very few fares that justify a Mileage Run...)
Thanks for sharing your AA experiences... Many here are tempted; In my case so far SFO has been the deciding factor against AA. Even with the great new T2 at SFO, AA continues to reduce service... I guess that is what happens when you don't live in a cornerstone city.
Out of the blue, Alaska just gifted me MVP status... I am going to check the AS forum to see if this is really worth anything. If it is, maybe I'll direct some of my west coast (PDX, SEA) travel towards AS...
Jun 13, 2011, 5:15 am
#95
Suspended
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: Toronto YYZ UA-1K 1MM,QFgold
Programs: Royal Ambassador/ SPG Platinum 75/Marriott gold
Posts: 14,283
Warning AC will be going on Strike starting next week.
I just did my first flights with CO last week and wow the food is a a huge improvement, however CO call center people are HOPELESS!
I will be sticking with UA!
Jun 13, 2011, 7:24 am
#96
Join Date: Mar 2007
Location: ABQ & RNO
Programs: AA EXP 4MM, Piper Dakota, Admirals Club, Hyatt Glob, Hilton Gold, Wyndham Diamond
Posts: 1,426
Luckily I'll re-qualify for EXP and 1K this year and I'll have one more year to decide. I'll be going with AA if MP continues its downward spiral.
Jun 13, 2011, 7:30 am
#97
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
Best price I see for a quick turn - same day, or overnight in Chicago - is $408.
R/T EQM = 3682
R/T DEQM = 7364
So, even with DEQM, this is not a good or cheap MR.... $0.055 per EQM.
If the price was $300 R/T, it would be $0.04 / EQM
If the price was $250 R/T, it would be $0.034 / EQM
If you can find me a same day turn before 8/31 for less than $250, I'll buy it!
Jun 13, 2011, 8:48 am
#98
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: AA LT Plat, UA 1k/1mm+, National EE, IC Plat, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 2,605
- Maybe because CO USED to be able to manage those kinds of numbers for me?
- Maybe because AA still manages to do it?
- Maybe because my almost 200k EQMs and $40k annual spend (including personal trips with family) show more loyalty than a silver flying a fraction of this and spending a fraction of my spend over the course of a year?
Well...if you're on Y fares, that explains. But maybe things have gotten better now that B fares are much more expensive than they used to be before the alignment with UA B fares.
- Maybe because AA still manages to do it?
- Maybe because my almost 200k EQMs and $40k annual spend (including personal trips with family) show more loyalty than a silver flying a fraction of this and spending a fraction of my spend over the course of a year?
Well...if you're on Y fares, that explains. But maybe things have gotten better now that B fares are much more expensive than they used to be before the alignment with UA B fares.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Jun 13, 2011 at 10:17 am Reason: merge
Jun 13, 2011, 10:13 am
#99
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: OPO
Programs: UA 1k MM, KLM Gold, Marriott Titanium, Hyatt Platinum
Posts: 312
I think about it once in a while (mostly while chewing my fingernails at the gate hoping for that 14-hour flight upgrade). But for now I'm staying put, after several years as CO Plat it's hard to change. The biggest consideration for me is international upgrade availability. Sadly, the days of cheap B + miles are gone, but I'm hoping I will still be able to do co-pay+miles on cheaper tickets. I travel internationally for work, but can only buy Economy fares, so all upgrades are out of pocket... if I can't upgrade on my own, UACO stops making sense. Though to be honest I don't think there is a better alternative.
As most people say, it's nice to be *A, but I have ZERO upgrades on partner carriers to show for it.
As most people say, it's nice to be *A, but I have ZERO upgrades on partner carriers to show for it.
Jun 13, 2011, 10:59 am
#100
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: San Francisco Bay Area
Posts: 5,825
- Maybe because CO USED to be able to manage those kinds of numbers for me?
- Maybe because AA still manages to do it?
- Maybe because my almost 200k EQMs and $40k annual spend (including personal trips with family) show more loyalty than a silver flying a fraction of this and spending a fraction of my spend over the course of a year?
- Maybe because AA still manages to do it?
- Maybe because my almost 200k EQMs and $40k annual spend (including personal trips with family) show more loyalty than a silver flying a fraction of this and spending a fraction of my spend over the course of a year?
You are an AA EXP, a CO Plat, and a UA 1P per your profile. (this indicates that you travelled between 75K and 100K miles in 2010 on CO and UA. Or perhaps you flew greater than 100K and just have not matched to 1K yet?)
As a CO Plat, what was your upgrade percentage 'in the good old days'?
For 2011, your percentage is 56% (although with only 9 flights, this is a relatively small sample size. What routes are you succeeding / failing on?)
According to UDU stats site, for a 1P in 2011, UDU success is 63%, which is not that far from what you are hitting.
I guess bottom line is that the (UACO) world is changing. We all will be impacted to varying degrees. In your case, you are fortunate to have a solid and preferred alternative in AA.
For you and everyone else, we just need to continue to see how things progress, and make a decision who we want to be a customer of based upon which of the airlines best suits our needs and desires.
AAExPlat:
"AA 2011 EQM = 82,574 / UA 2011 EQM = 36,017
AA '11 UPG = 80/80 (100%) / UA '11 EUA = 5/9 (56%)"
Jun 13, 2011, 11:14 am
#101
Join Date: Apr 2003
Programs: UA 1K, HHonors Gold
Posts: 136
If you are 1K, it is tough to switch, as I feel that Customer Relations does take GS/1K concerns seriously. I had a spate of problems from the past year of flying, and one fantastic C.R. agent in Chicago handled them all with grace and aplomb, keeping me a happy 1K. I agree that the merger is not promising as far as "changes we will like," but as an ORD-based person, I don't think AA can compare at present.
F.T.
F.T.
Jun 13, 2011, 1:08 pm
#102
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: East Coast
Programs: UA Lifetime Gold, AA Lifetime Platinum, Delta PM, Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,522
I also have been tempted by AA, especially now that it has linked so closely with BA and OneWorld is gaining some traction. However, financially it is performing very poorly, so I suspect that the drastic cuts will be coming. That's principally why I have not jumped ship - the grass may be greener but for how long. On balance I think I'll stick with UA, although the 8 usable systemwides would be very nice indeed.
That's why I do most of my personal travel (~95% & 115K EQMs) on AA and ~60% of my business travel on UA (~52K EQMs). The rest I spead out to AA and Virgin
Jun 13, 2011, 1:13 pm
#103
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: East Coast
Programs: UA Lifetime Gold, AA Lifetime Platinum, Delta PM, Marriott Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,522
I wouldn’t get too excited about AA unless you’re in F a lot. DL had to move me to an AA flight EWR-DFW a few weeks ago. When I checked in at the ticket counter, I was assigned a middle seat as the agent said nothing else was left. At the gate, 10 minutes later, the agent said there were several aisle seats. Nice.
Once aboard, the FA's made exactly one pass through Y for drinks. One. On a three hour flight. And they couldn’t have looked more bored with their jobs if they tried.
Also, almost half of their mainline fleet are tired, worn out MD-80’s, with some of the worst onboard bin space in the industry.
Used to be an AA plat - don't really miss riding on them at all.
Once aboard, the FA's made exactly one pass through Y for drinks. One. On a three hour flight. And they couldn’t have looked more bored with their jobs if they tried.
Also, almost half of their mainline fleet are tired, worn out MD-80’s, with some of the worst onboard bin space in the industry.
Used to be an AA plat - don't really miss riding on them at all.
Jun 13, 2011, 3:55 pm
#104
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: AA LT Plat, UA 1k/1mm+, National EE, IC Plat, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 2,605
In 2003, 2004, and 2005, my upgrade percentages on CO were about 90%. Most of that flying was AUS-IAH-SFO-IAH-AUS. But there were also trips to other domestic destinations.
Correct. I will always maintain Star Gold, so I'll fly 50k EQMs with UA/CO every year no matter what happens, but if I could get treated like I do get treated on AA, I could either split my flying more evenly or give UA the lionshare like I did in 2007, 2008, and 2009. For now, I have 50k EQMs to monitor the merger progress each year. If things improve, so may my purchase patterns.
Jun 13, 2011, 3:58 pm
#105
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Programs: AA LT Plat, UA 1k/1mm+, National EE, IC Plat, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 2,605
Sorry but this is what happes when you fly in Y and don't have status. If you were Ex-Plat on AA and you flew EWR-DFW you will be praising the airline. I have not flown in Y on AA domestic this year because I have a 100% upgrade success rate on AA as Ex-Plat. This will NEVER happen on UA even when I was a 1K for almost 6 years. Go figure!